Fitzgerald: From Hong Kong, a Stockton native’s novel

Samuel Ferrer, a Stockton native, writes he has authored a book; he is the first-ever non-Asian nominated for Asia’s prestigious Man Asian Literary Prize.

“I’m inquiring if it might be possible to get some kind of feature interview in the Stockton Record,” Ferrer writes.

Well, certainly Mr. Ferrer. Especially since “The Last Gods of Indochine” is a tremendously imaginative work of historical fiction written in mature and artistic prose.

The novel places Ferrer close to the best writers to emerge from Stockton, including Leonard Gardner and Maxine Hong Kingston. That’s no provincial distinction.

In Hong Kong, Ferrer, 47, plays double bass in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He was visiting Myanmar (the former Burma) when reached via Skype.

He spoke from Bagar, an ancient temple city on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River.

“I was born at Dameron Hospital, and grew up in Morada,” Ferrer said. “A lot of what we did growing up happened in Stockton.” His mother, Kathleen Ferrer, still lives here.

After completing a music master’s at Yale, Ferrer freelanced in New York. When Hong Kong Philharmonic’s touring auditions passed through, Ferrer won a job. He moved to Hong Kong in 2002.

“One of the very first things I did after I moved to Hong Kong was to get on a plane and take a trip to Cambodia,” recalled Ferrer, who confesses to wanderlust. “Basically during my time there, that’s when I stumbled upon the premise for this book.”

Specifically, Ferrer learned about French explorer and naturalist Henri Mouhot (1826-1861). Mouhot plunged into the remote jungles of Cambodia and enlightened the West about the vast ruins of the ancient Kampuchean capital city of Angkor and the magnificent temple at Angkor Wat. He died of malaria in Laos.

Angkor Wat swept Ferrer off his feet.

“How extraordinary that they could build this temple — on par with the pyramids, on par with the Vatican — getting stone slabs down the river,” Ferrer said. “I wanted to learn more about that. There have to be stories there.”

Most Cambodia stories go no further back than the Khmer Rouge. But the ruins suggested a fascinating civilization. Ferrer also found Mouton’s time, a period of French colonialism, to be fascinating, too.

The idea of writing had been germinating in Ferrer for years. Besides voracious reading, he cited two influences.

One was “The Piano Tuner,” a historical fiction set in the Burmese raj. The author, furthermore, was a neophyte writer in medical school when he wrote it.

“I read it and thought … basically anyone who puts their elbow grease to it, does a considerable amount of research, can do that.”

“I liked the idea of writing a mythological story about a boy who had a messianic complex and his community was trying to figure out if he was a god or not.”

The other influence came, surprisingly, from a play Ferrer did while a student at Lodi’s Tokay High: “The Diviners.” That story is about an ex-preacher on whom a village foolishly pins its dreams, with tragic consequences.

Ferrer conceived of a fictional granddaughter, Jacquie Mouhot. In 1921 Jacquie boldly retraces her famous grandfather’s footsteps, a rarity for women of that period. Jacquie ends up accompanied by a Darwinist aviator whose attentions unlock her traumatic past.

In a second story line, set 600 years earlier when Kampuchea flourished, Paaku, a lowly orphan boy, appears to fulfill a prophecy. His sudden importance thrusts him into dangerous palace intrigue.

The two story lines intertwine. “It’s safe to say there’s a struggle there between the world that’s becoming more scientific and sort of the beauty of mythology and religion,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer married a Chinese woman. They have a young daughter. He also leads an acid jazz band called Shaolin Fez. In fact, he’s put his second novel on pause while he produces a band CD.

Asked to sum up “The Last Gods of Indochine,” Ferrer replied, “I would say that it’s a journey to a pretty exotic part of the world — that no one knows enough about.”

Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/fitzgeraldblog and on Twitter @Stocktonopolis.

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